Bleached add heat to a sunny Upper Sproul

Bleached on Upper Sproul

Thursday power pop group Bleached played Cal’s Upper Sproul as part of SUPERB‘s Spring Concert Series and local band Hot Flash Heat Wave opened the show.

Hot Flash Heat Wave, a San Francisco act, have a dream-pop, garage rock sound that is both mellow and surprisingly upbeat, with crooning vocals and lots of syncopated drums. Their name was fitting for the weather that day–in between sets, many of the concert-goers took refuge on the sides of buildings and in shaded grassy areas around Sproul to avoid the heat.

Bleached, a Los Angeles band more accustomed to sunny weather, drew a large crowd, even in the heat unusual for Bay Area residents. At the start of their set, the crowd reemerged from their shaded refuges to mosh in the pit and dance around the stage. Singer-songwriter Jennifer Clavin nodded to the weather between songs, mentioning the glaring sun from the stage, and then jesting that it’s alright because “you guys probably don’t see [the sun] often.” Calvin even received a present; after telling the audience she broke her sunglasses before the show, a fan rushed on stage to give her a pair. Jennifer and Jessica Clavin also exclaimed that their mom was currently “on tour” with them, and drove up to Berkeley just to see their show. The band mostly played songs off of their newest album, Ride Your Heart Out, and added a few covers including The Coasters’ “Poison Ivy”.

If you missed the on-campus action, be sure to check out Bleached at the Observatory on August 2nd, part of Burger A-Go-Go. They will be playing with other female-fronted bands like Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, and The Muffs.